Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" Through this assignment, emerging engineers examine how failed experiments are simply part of the process of an outstanding design. They begin with some reading about the microwave oven,...

While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...

With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...

Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...

Students identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. They gather and analyze information and work in collaborative teams to create a design plan for a new product.

Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...

Many historical innovations were created for the common good. Get your students ready for life as a critical thinker with this lesson which defines the differences between innovation and invention. They will conduct Internet research,...

All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...

Students examine the way various inventions have changed their lives. As a class, they create a timeline of the most important inventions during their lifetime and another timeline of how old they were when it was invented. ...

Throughout time, innovators have taken basic ideas and changed them into creative and cutting-edge designs. Kids tackle the topic of innovations in relation to traditional or creative objects. They discuss traditional Navajo pottery then...

Students explore innovators and inventions. For this technology lesson, students investigate the issues inventors face as they tackle new technology. Students design their own realistic needs-based invention.

Students, while examining inventions and innovators, identify, differentiate and discuss five Canadian inventors/innovations. After applying creative thinking strategies to a promotional piece, students brainstorm patents.

Students examine the changes in the U.S. in the period of industrialization before the Civil War. They analyze census data, list/describe inventions and innovations, explore various websites, conduct a Factory Simulation activity, and...

Students consider the qualities that inventors possess and explore the history and uncertain future of U.S. innovation by reading and discussing the article "Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge?"

Humans love to communicate and they do it in so many different ways. The class investigates how people have used new inventions and technological innovations to communicate. They are divided into groups of three or four and given...

Eighth graders research how science and technology have evolved by studying inventions. In this invention lesson, 8th graders discuss inventions and work in teams to create an innovation to present at the Invention Convention. Students...

What a great project. Graphic arts high schoolers consider the social, political, and economic impact made by a chosen invention. They build an argument to substantiate their reasons for choosing said invention. They create an oral...

Students examine the Hajj preformed by the Muslims. They discover the five pillars of Islam and the Koran. They examine the major differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

A two-part instructional activity asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to...

Studnets discover how the Industrial Revolution came to be in the United States. In this technological advancements lesson, students research creations by Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, and Thomas Edison. Students create PowerPoint...

Students identify the innovations that have impacted their lives.  In this inventions lesson students write and present a speech on the greatest innovation of their generation.

Fifth graders learn the importance of a patent for a new invention. They use the internet to practice typing a classroom patent for a compound machine that their class invented. While on the website, 5th graders choose a month and...

This site contains a variety of worksheets and activities to supplement the on-line problem-based learning activity about how imagination and how inventions are created. TheWright Brothers are used as a case study. The links and...